Everest on the ‘to do’ list for more than 40-years
“Everest had been on the to do list since I windsurfed around Britain in 1984” confirmed a relaxed Tim Batstone. “It then bubbled to the top of my consciousness at the beginning of ’25 when I read an intriguing piece in the FT Weekend that made it sound pretty straightforward. So, I thought – it’s now or never!”
What followed was 14-months of arduous training including ice climbing in Austria and France, a week-long trek across some of Switzerland’s 4,000m peaks plus lots of ski touring, cycling, climbing walls and gym sessions. And then in February 2026 the real test. A three week expedition in Argentina to climb Acon-cagua, at 7,000m the highest mountain in the Andes.
“That went like a dream” recalled Tim. “But my Everest preparation was unfortunately curtailed after I picked-up a knee injury in the run-up to leaving for Nepal in April. I then got extremely sick with a stomach bug on the trek from Kathmandu to base camp, which really weakened me and made the climbing much harder.
“Nonetheless we completed what’s known as an acclimatisation rotation which comprised up from base camp then eight-hours through the icefall to camp 1. The next day we climbed to camp 2. Day three was to a little over 7,000m on the Lhotse face then back to camp 2. On day four we descended through the icefall back to base camp.”
The threat of the mountains was ever present
Tim recounts “a seriously gruelling four-days” spent climbing and sleeping at high altitude on top of feeling under the weather. “To be honest I was almost too tired to enjoy the view despite it being one of the most spectacular places on earth. One of the highlights was crossing a yawning crevasse on a bridge consisting of five ladders strapped together – there’s genuinely nothing like the icefall anywhere on the planet.”
He describes the threat of the mountains as being ever present with the glacier and towering walls of ice constantly creaking and occasionally crumbling.
“You get used to the sounds of avalanches and rockfalls as they happen 24/7 – you just hope that they stop before camp – when you are not too tired to care!”
Snow blindness burnt the epithelia off my eyeballs
What followed is what he nonchalantly described as “some major schoolboy errors” involving sunglasses and lip salve which were to dictate the rest of the expedition. “We left to climb the icefall at midnight and in the dark I picked up the wrong sunglasses – standard category three instead of category four” he stated.
“By day four I had severe snowblindness – stinging, streaming eyes and blurred vision and had to descend the icefall in that state. Back at base camp I saw an American eye surgeon who by chance was part of the expedition and he told me that I had burnt the epithelia off my eyeballs.”
“If that wasn’t enough I also left my lip salve in my tent and again after a few days in the cauldron of the Western Cwm my lips puffed up, went black and I lost a couple of layers of skin. On top of that I was finding it hard to eat and drink enough. After the food poisoning, I was wary of food and found it really difficult to drink the minimum four litres of fluid recommended per day.”
Every step was agony
By any standards Tim wasn’t in great shape so it wasn’t a huge surprise when he went down with a debilitating virus at basecamp.
“We were due to climb up the icefall again but every step was agony and I only managed a couple of hours before I could go no further. With the lack of oxygen the body repairs very slowly at altitude so the standard protocol when sick is to descend to Kathmandu, recover and return. However, I made the extre-mely painful and difficult decision not to go back up but to return home instead.
“My guide was confident that we would get to the summit but with my knee still bothering me and not at full strength he had concerns about the safety of our descent. Slowness or an accident through the death zone – which is from the summit down to Camp three – leaves you very vulnerable.
“None of us wanted to stay at the top of Everest permanently so I decided that it might be better to take the not-so-subtle hint my body was giving me and to live to fight another day.”
£92,000 raised for charity
“To be frank I am still haunted by my decision. It was bitterly, bitterly disappointing not to summit, made harder I think by the high expectations I had coming in to the expedition. Our success on Aconcagua where only one in four people attempting the mountain reaches the summit – much less than Everest – meant that climbing the world’s highest mountain felt like it was pretty much in the bag already. A lesson in complacency that was hard learnt.”
On a positive note, Tim’s charity fundraising went extremely well: “We topped £92,000 in total” he confirmed. “I am a late onset epileptic and was diagnosed four years ago so the majority of funds raised have gone to an epilepsy research charity.
“We are also supporting a mental health charity and over £3,500 has been donated to the Bacta Charitable Trust to help with all their good causes. The Trust has done a fantastic job over the years – really showcasing the generosity of the industry. I am so grateful to everyone within the industry who has supported me.”
I haven’t quite yet moved-on from Chomolungma
Sharing what he described as a nice little vignette of this whole thing he said: “In typical fashion Nick Harding had the smart idea to mark the 30th anniversary of HB’s high court ‘battle of the bears’ by taking a miniature Steiff bear up Everest with me.
The bold little bear took advantage of the space in my guide’s pocket and actually made it all the way to the top. HB the bear is going to be included in a specialist Teddy auction being held later this year in London with the proceeds being added to the £92,000.
“In terms of what’s next – swimming or kite surfing the English Channel has been mooted but, full disclosure, I haven’t quite yet moved on from Chomolungma … might I go back ? You’ll just have to watch this space!”
Coinslot readers wishing to contribute to Tim’s fundraising can do so here:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/tim-batstone
To view Tim’s video from Base Camp click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPKw-4lNynM
Originally published on Coinslot on July 27, 2026. Republished with permission.